Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Baby Seal Killing: Not Just for Humans Anymore

Most people think sea otters are lovable, cute, and cuddly. That's because most people aren't baby seals, who have a keen insight into the wicked, deadly, raping ways of "playful" otters.

Writing in a recent edition of the journal Aquatic Mammals, Heather Harris of the California Department of Fish and Game and colleagues document nineteen occurrences of [sea otters forcibly copulating with and killing seal pups] in Monterey Bay between 2000 and 2002, leading to the deaths of at least 15 seals.

Harris and her colleagues describe one incident in vivid detail:

"A weaned harbor seal pup was resting onshore when an untagged male sea otter approached it, grasped it with its teeth and forepaws, bit it on the nose, and flipped it over. The harbor seal moved toward the water with the sea otter following closely. Once in the water, the sea otter gripped the harbor seal’s head with its forepaws and repeatedly bit it on the nose, causing a deep laceration. The sea otter and pup rolled violently in the water for approximately 15 min, while the pup struggled to free itself from the sea otter’s grasp. Finally, the sea otter positioned itself dorsal to the pup’s smaller body while grasping it by the head and holding it underwater in a position typical of mating sea otters. As the sea otter thrust his pelvis, his penis was extruded and intromission was observed. At 105 min into the encounter, the sea otter released the pup, now dead, and began grooming."